Bag-machine



(No Model.) g2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

W. H. KERR. BAG MACHINE.

No. 534,890. Patented Feb. 26, 1895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. KERR.

v BAG MAGHINE.

' No. 534,890. Patented Feb. 26, 189 5.

Unwrap STATES ration.

WILLIAM H. KERR, OF CONCORD, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOLDEN BELT MANU- FACTURINGCOMPANY, OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.

BAG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,890, dated February26, 1895. Application filed March 26, 1890. Renewed December 27, 1894.Serial No. 533,123. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HALL KERR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Concord, in the county of Cabarrus and State of 5 NorthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBag'Machines, of ,which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machinery for the manufacture of bags, eitherhemmed or unl hemmed, and consists in various features,

combinations and details hereinafter set forth, whereby I am enabled todraw the bag material from a roll, hem it if required, fold 1t,cutitinto proper length, and stitch it along r5 the sides from the mouth tothe folded end,

or in the opposite direction.

A Many of the details of the machine are set forth and claimed in otherapplications filed 1n my name June 28, 1889, Serial No. 315,920,

patented January 27, 1891, No. 445,351, and January 31, 1890, Serial No.338,718, and are therefore not claimed herein, but are shown more orless fully for the purpose of illustrating a complete or operativemachine.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of amachine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a front or side elevation of thesame; Figs. 3, at and 5, views illustrat- 1ng the construction of theguide by which 0 tne bag material is turned through an angle of ninetydegrees, changing it from ,a vertical to a horizontal position; Fig. 6,a diagram illustrating the action of the guide.

In the manufacture of bags it is found con- 5 venient and desirable thatthe roll of bag material be placed with its axis in a horizontalPOSllLlOD, as it will, under such arrangement,

keep its shape more readily, can be more easily placed in position, andbe more conveniently 4o hemmed than when placed in a vertical or otherposition than horizontal. So, too, it is found somewhat more convenientand easy to fold the material longitudinally through its middle when theroll is placed in a horizontal 5 position and the folding is done as thematerial is drawn from the roll than to do so when the roll of materialoccupies a different position; but while this arrangement of the roll isdes1rable,1t is equally desirable, and in fact it is important that thefeeding, cutting, stitching and transferring mechanisms be placed inhorizontal positions, and my present improvements are directed largelytoward the attainment of these results.

Referring again to the drawings, A repreor hangers C, to receive thejournals of the central roll or shaft upon which the bag material D iswound, said material passing from the roll to and over the table Bbeneath a roll E which may be driven or not as desired. The function ofthis roll E is, primarily, to give. direction to the bag material D, butit may also be positively rotated so as. to aid in drawing the materialforward and delivering it .to stitching mechanisms F, F, by which theedges of the material may be hemmed.

The stitching mechanisms F may of course be thrown out of gear at anytime in case it be not desired to hem the bag material.

G indicates a second roller in rear of the stitching mechanisms F,which, like the roller E, may be rotated by suitable gearing, or Ymerely allowed to act as a guide for the bag material D, as founddesirable.

Rising from the table B at a suitable distance backward from the roll G,are two vertical rollers H, H, which are geared together either above orbelow the table, preferably below, and receive motion through beveledgears a, b, from a main driving shaft I, or are otherwise positivelydriven.

The rolls H H constitute not only a pressing, smoothing, and feedingdevice for the folded fabric, but also a guide through which the foldedweb passes and from which it is carried to a feed roll substantially atright angles to the axes of the rolls H II.

In advance of the rollers H, H, and carried by any suitable support, isan inclined guide J shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and by full linesin Fig. 3, over which the bag material D is drawn before passing to andbetween the rollers H, H.

The extreme upper end of the guide J is at a height above the tablejustequal to one-half the width of the bag material D, as the latter comesto the rollers H, H; that is to say, it is at a height equal to one-halfthe width of the hemmed or unhem med sheet, according to the class ofwork that is being done, and to adapt the guide for use both in hemmedand unhemmed work, it is made adjustable in any convenient manner asimple way being to slot the posts in which the guide is carried and tobind or clamp said guide in the posts by means of set screws asindicated in Fig. 3.

The material D is drawn upward from the roll G over the guide or folderJ and thence between the rollers H, H, the lower edges of the materialpassing from the outer ends of straightline along its middle.

the roll G inward toward the vertical meeting line of the rollers H, H,as indicated in Fig. 1, and traveling in contact with or in very closeproximity to the surface of the table 13 from the one point to theother. This is a matter of importance for the reason that any deflectionor deviation from a straight line will cause the material to packer orto creep off and prevent the folding of the material in a As thematerial thus folded passes between the rollers H, H, it is by thempressed and moved forward and at once passes over a turning guide K,which is of the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the essential partof the guide being merely a rod, bar or Wire extending from the upperend of the rollers H, H downward to the bed or table B, in a directionoblique to a ver tical plane passing from the midlength of the rollersD, E and G to the bite, or meeting point of the rollers H, H, and thencetoward the rear end of the table B. In other words, the essentialfeature or part of the guide isa turning edge over which the foldedmaterial is drawn, said edge beginning at the upper end of the rollersH, H, passing thence downward and rearwardly to the table B, meeting thesame at a point as far to one side of the vertical planes as the foldedbody is wide. This guide may be in the form indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and3; that is to say, the form of a rectangular plate (1 of metal, or othersuitable material, of a width equalto the width of the bag material inits folded condition, said plate being folded or bent along a diagonalline connecting two of its corners or angles, and bent so that its twoportions shall meet each other at a right angle. WVhen thus made andformed of a single plate, the folded material coming from between therolls will be drawn forward with its folded edge parallel to the free orouter edge of the guide extending from the top of the rolls downward tothe table in the plane before mentioned, passing between the rolls H, Hand bisecting the rolls D, E and G. The free edges of the foldedmaterial will travel along the lower edge of the vertical portion of theguide upon or in close proximity to the table B, until they reach theextreme lower end of the guide, when they will pass above the same andat once enter beneath a roller L, which is placed in ahorizontalposition directly in rear of the guide K, to keep the material down toits place, and to feed it back to the cutting and stitching mechanisms.If desired, however, there may be employed, in addition to the outerplate (1, constructed as above, a supplemental plate or bar 6, arrangedbeneath the plate cl and following closely the angle or bend thereof asindicated in Fig. 4. WVhen this construction is adopted, the foldedmaterial instead of passing bodily above and over the plate (1, willpass on opposite sides thereof,one fold orlayer of the material beingdrawn across the angle or bent edge of the plate 01, and the otherpassing under the overturned portion of plate 61 and between the sameand the bar e, and being drawn over the angle or folded edge of saidplate or bar 6, in the same manner that the first or upper fold is drawnover the plate d. This may be found a preferable construc tion inpractice, or at least with certain classes of material, for the reasonthat both folds or layers of the material will in such event besubjected to precisely the same friction strain and tension and therewill consequently be no tendency to creep or to work off in passing overthe guide. Uuderordinary circumstances, however, the guide representedin Fig. 5, will be found sufficient, and in some respects it is deemedadvantageous over that shown in the preceding figures. This consistssimply of wire d, extending from the bite of the rolls at their upperends downward to the bed or table, and attaching the same at the outerend of the roll L, or at the same point to which the folded edge of theguide K of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 extends. The action or operation of theguide K will be readily understood upon referring to Fig. 6 in which theline :roc indicates the vertical plane before referred to asintersecting the rolls E, D and G, and passing between the rolls H, H.From this figure, it will be readily perceived that the material passesfrom the roll D inward equally from each end toward the rolls H, H,rising from the roll D to the top of the roll H at a rate equal to theapproach of the edges toward each other; orin other words, at such arate as causes the edges to travel at all times parallel to the top oftable B.

It will be observed that there is present in and essential to each formof the guide K, a folding edge, or support extending from the upper endsof rolls H H downward and outward to the farther or outer end of roll L,and. that this edge or support is the main operative element of theguide in all cases. Therefore, while it may be and is advantageous insome cases to continue the support outward from the supporting line oredge both horizontally and vertically, and also advanta geous in someinstances to employ the supplemental guide 6, I mean to be understood asclaiming broadly or generically a guide extending from the upper ends ofthe folding or guiding rolls H H to the outer end of the roll L, whetherthe other features be present or absent.

After passing through the rolls H, H, the folded edge of the materialcontinues to travel along the line 00-00 and descends toward the tableB, while the free edges of the material continue to travel parallel tothe top of table B and upon or in close proximity thereto, but aredeflccted to one side of the line cc-m a distance equal to the width ofthe material in its folded condition or to the farther end of roll L.

By the use of the guide K, constructed and arranged as above explained,I am enabled to change the position of the folded material from aVertical plane to a horizontal plane, without wrinkling, buckling orcreasing and as a consequence to deliver it with its free edges paralleland with its body perpendicular to the axis of the roller L, whichresults are essential to the proper feed of the material to the devicesin rear of said roller L.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that there are in themachine several guides, namely, a folding guide J which serves tolongitudinally crease or fold the material through its middle; rolls H Hwhich in addition to their other functions guide and support thematerial as it leaves folding guide J and preparatory to its enteringupon and passing over the turning guide K,and lastly said turning guideK. In speaking, therefore, in the claims, ofaguide through which thefolded sheet or web passes in a'given plane, the rolls H H are referredto, and by the turning guide, referred to in the claims as extendingobliquely from one effective end of such guide to the end of the feedroll farthest removed, the guide K is 1neant;these or other mechanicalequivalents.

At the rear end of the guide K and at the forward edge of the table Bisplaced a roller L, which is driven by suitable gearing from the mainshaft I and serves to draw the folded bag material through the guide Kand to advance it to an intermittent feed-roll M by which it is drawnforward at intervals from the roll L, the rate of rotation of roll Mbeing enough more rapid than that of roll L to take up during therotation of said roll Mthe surplus accumulating between the two rolls Land M during the period of inaction of the latter roll.

In rear of the roll M is a vertically reciprocating knife or cutter Nwhich is actuated periodically through suitable mechanism to sever fromthe advancing folded sheet lengths or blanks suitable for the formationof bags of given capacity. The rising and falling action of the cutter Nmay be conveniently produced by a rotating cam 0 carried by the shaft P,which is connected through suitable In rear of the cutter N there islocated a longitudinally reciprocating pusher or transferdevice Q, whichis periodically moved forward across the table B by means of the lever Bactuated by a cam S carried by the shaft P.

The transferring-device or pusher Q is so constructed and connected withthe other parts of the machinery that it acts upon the material onlyduring its forward or advancing movement, and its purpose is to carrythe severed blank T forward to and beneath the presser-feet or withinrange of action of the feed mechanisms of two stitching devices orsewing-machine heads U, U, which stitch the sides of the blank andcomplete the bag.

It will be observed by reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 that the guide K isso arranged as to direct the free edges of the folded sheet D toward thestitching mechanisms U, U, from which it results that the stitching ofthe side of the bag is begun at the free edges or mouth of the bag andcontinued toward the folded end or bottom of the bag, a result which isadvantageous, in that the bags are far less liable to ripthan wouldotherwise be the case. This is due to the fact that in practice singlethread machines are ordinarily employed for stitching the bags, and thestitched bags are delivered from the machine with a short chain ofstitches connecting them, as shown in Fig. 1, which stitches are brokento separate the bags.

Stitching of the character indicated is liable to rip out, unless thestitches are fastened off, that is to say, unless two or three extrastitches are left and the thread drawn tight to form a knot, but theripping always be gins at the end where the stitching terminates, andthis being under the above arrangement at the folding bottom of the bag,there is less liability of starting the ripping, because the lower endof the bag is subjected to less strain than is the mouth thereof. I donot, however, limit myself to stitch from the mouth toward the bottom ofthe bag, although preferring such plan for the reasons stated.

I have indicated in the drawings suitable connecting gear for impartingmotion from the main shaft to the various mechanisms referred to, merelyfor the sake of showing a complete and operative machine; but it is tobe understood that any suitable connecting gear may be employed, suchfor instance, as is described in my aforesaid patent and application.

It is apparent that the material, after being folded, and after passingbetween the rolls H, H, may be deflected to one or the other side, theguide K and feeding-roll L, the cut.- ting and stitching mechanismsbeing located accordingly, but it is preferred to arrange the partsasshown.

The roll L may be set back from the point shown and a fixed bar or guideplaced where the roll is located in the drawings. So too, the foldingguide or plate K may be placed above instead of below the material, andthe roll D raised so as to cause the material to tend toward and carryits folded edge to the table 13. As to this, I also prefer thearrangement shown. It would likewise be possible to turn the foldedmaterial at less or more than ninety degrees, but no useful purposewould be subserved thereby, so far as I am able to see. These merevariations are mentioned simply to indicate the scope of my inventionandclaims, and to guard against so much evasion of the latter.

The present application is designed to cover particularly the foldingdevices, whereby I am enabled, first, to arrange the roll of bagmaterial in a horizontal position, and to fold the same longitudinallythrough its middle; and, second, to turn the folded sheet through anangle of ninety degrees to present it properly to the cutting andstitching mechanisms, the special gearing, cutting and transferringmechanisms employed constituting no part of the present invention.

I am aware that folding devices have heretofore been made in many forms;and that a sheet has been drawn over a V-shaped plate and theneebetweenrolls or around a roll, to fold it longitudinally, but so far as I amaware no one has ever before constructed or arranged a folder and guidein the manner herein set forth and shown,whereby I am enabled to carrythe work forward over a flat table on one continuous level, and with theleast possible deflection in its course.

I do not in this specification claim the method of forming bags whichconsists in folding a continuous web or sheet of material longitudinallythrough its middle, severing from the folded web or sheet a blanksuitable for the formation of a bag, and finally stitching the severedblank along the sides at right angles to the fold, as this method isclaimed in my pending application, Serial No. 338,718, before referredto. Neither do I claim herein the method of forming hemmed bags, whichconsists in hemming the edges of a continuous Web or sheet, folding thehemmed web or sheet longitudinally through its middle, severinga baglength or blank from the folded web or sheet, moving the blank laterallyout of the path of the advancing folded Web or sheet, and stitching thesevered blank alongits sides at right angles to the fold, as this methodis claimed in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 338,718.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a bag machine,the combination with a guide through which a folded sheet or Web passesin a given plane, of a feed-roll located at a distance from said guideand in a plane approximately at right angles to that of the guide, andan intermediate turning guide extending obliquely from one effective endof the first-mentioned guide to the end of the feed-roller farthestremoved, substantially as set forth. V

2. In combination with a guide adapted to carry a folded web or sheet, afeed-roll located at a distance therefrom and in a plane approximatelyat right angles to that of said guide, the axis of said roll beingperpendicular to a plane extending from the guide to one effective endof the feed-roll; and a turning guide or bar extending from one to theother of the most widely separated effective ends of the guide andfeed-roll, substantially as described and shown.

In combination with rolls, H, H, and a feed-roll L, the latter arrangedwith its axis perpendicular-to a plane passing from the bite of therolls to one effective end of the roll L; a turning guide K extendingfrom the upper ends of rolls H, H, to the most distant effective end ofroll L.

4. In combination with guide or rolls H, H, and with roll L, anintermediate oblique guide consisting of two plates or bars, 01 and 6,one to guide each fold or layer of a folded sheet or Web.

5. The herein-described bag machine, consisting of bed or table B, rollsE and G, stitching mechanisms, F, F, folding-plate J, presserrolls H, H,turning guide K, roll L, intermittent feed-roll M, cutter N, pusher Q,stitching mechanisms U, U, and operative connecting gear for givingmotion to said parts, substantially as set forth.

6. In a bag machine, the combination with a folding plate or guide, androlls for advancing the folded material, of stitching mechanisms adaptedto stitch the folded material, and a turning guide located between therolls and the stitching mechanisms, and adapted to deliver the foldedmaterial with its free edges toward the stitching mechanisms,whereby thefolded material is caused to be stitched from its free edges to itsfolded end.

7. In a bag machine, the combination with a pair of sewing machines andhemmers; of a cutter; folding mechanism between said machines and thecutter; a second pair of sewing machines to stitch up the sides of thebag; and a horizontal feed mechanism bet-ween the cutter and the secondset of machines,whereby the folded material is stitched from the hemtoward the crease to form a bag.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM H. KERR.

Witnesses:

H. I. WOODHOUSE, JOHN G. LESLIE.

